The Runaway

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I shivered at the sight of his blood-drained face. His face was paler than ever and his lips the darkest shade of purple. Dark circles surrounded his eyes as his body looked shrivelled and weak. His breathing was constant due to the mask attached to his face to support him in doing so. Blood was supplied to him through tubes that went into his body.

The number of tubes and machines around him truly scared me. His condition could not have deteriorated so much in such a short time right?

I had never seen him in such a poor state. He looked fine a few days ago and now he was a mess. As much as I blame him for this, it is actually my fault. I should have not given him all the blame when he went through such a raw accident. The aftermath of the accident did leave an impact on him and we were going through mental trauma but what did I do? I went straight up to him and yelled. I spit in his face all the insults and conclusions I could have possibly come up with.

I could not bear the sight of his weak body anymore. I had to go. Just as I could leave, Mrs Cross spoke up. "Honey, can I talk to you for a sec?" I nodded and followed her out of the room.

"I'm sorry I could not pick you up and all but I hope you understand that I had to-" I cut her off, holding her hands in an aim to comfort her.

"It's really okay. Ameil dropped me off. Please do not worry about me. I'm doing okay. Luke is in such a state I fear staying away from him yet I cannot bear to stay with him. What happened?"

"I know how you feel. I can't bear to see my son in such a state as well." She paused before gesturing for me to take a seat with her outside.

"He was doing fine, actually. I started to tell him about my day and how I went to the grocery store. I continued and he was listening to be with absolute attention and a smile on his face. I truly believed he would be fine in a couple of day, to be honest. But then I talked about picking you up from school and bringing you to work. His expressions changed," she paused.

She blinked rapidly, holding back tears. Her hands shook. I took them in my own to steady them. She nodded at me before continuing.

"He became worried and started repetitively saying 'it's all my fault'. He started to pant and suddenly he couldn't breathe. I got super worried and looked for a doctor but by the time the doctor came, Luke went unconscious. He had an asthma attack and due to his critical condition his body could not adapt to it quickly causing him to be in such a state. The doctor says he will be out for a while."

"How long exactly? I thought his asthma attacks were not frequent anymore? I thought he was getting better?"

"I thought so too, hun. Something triggered it again. Let me tell you something." I nodded to let her continue. "When Luke was a child, he often fell sick. He was looked down by his peers for being 'weak' and he did not like them but when you came back to town and the both of you became friends, his anxiety attacks, his often asthma attacks lessened. He was getting better."

I smiled remembering the first time we met, again. We were both very young, like seven or so. My mother and father came back to town after my dad got his job back here. We were away for two to three years as far as I can remember. My mother and Mrs Cross were very close such that the first time we came back here, we went to meet her.

My sister was not born yet so it was just me, my mother and dad. His old house seemed rather big to me because I was just five. Upon entering, Mrs Cross complimented me on how "big" I had become and I smiled. Mr Cross picked me up and tickled me, laughing before putting me down and telling me Luke was in his room.